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National Catholic Youth Conference - November 8, 9 and 10, 2007

Kim Wilson
“God is there.” This phrase is part of a song that was sung at the National Catholic Youth Conference this year in Columbus, Ohio. At first, I just listened. (There is nothing like hearing 20,000 plus people sing!) Then I went to sing it myself. I guess it was hard for me to say it because I was thinking about the times in my life when I doubted if God really was there. As I thought more, I was able to tell myself that yes, God is there and God has been there for me. Throughout the whole time I spent in Columbus for that weekend, I grew in my faith and learned so much more about myself then I knew before. NCYC was much more than I expected it to be! I thought it’d be cool to go away for a retreat like experience, but it became way more than that! I can’t even put into words how it felt to be there. I really am thankful for all of those who supported us in going on this trip! Without their generosity, it wouldn’t have been possible! Just walking around the streets and the convention center, I was greeted with many cheery faces, and I can’t even say it felt like home, because sometimes I think we don’t always try to give our smiles to other people here. It was more of a welcoming atmosphere there, then even in our neighborhood!! Something I tried to do there was to look at people and look for God in them. I think that maybe if we look a little more in the deepness of other’s eyes, we can see God! God is there - we just need to take the time to look.

Joe Joost
NCYC 2007! Wow, what an amazing weekend! I never thought I would have been able to enjoy myself as much as I did. 20,000 teenagers gathered together to celebrate their faith. That was such an amazing sight. There were so many great activities to participate in and many speakers to go and listen to. All of the speakers were wonderful and they all had very strong and powerful messages. The speaker who I loved listening to was our Master of Ceremonies, Steve Angrisano. He spoke to us in such a caring and loving manner. Just the way he spoke to us was moving. He talked to us, not as just ordinary people who celebrate their faith, but as people who are keeping the church strong and alive. He was also the host of NCYC 2005 in Atlanta. His words have spoken to me in such deep ways and make me want to do so much more for the Church. I want to help keep the youth involved and I want them to keep the Church going strong. When he spoke to us, it felt so good to know that people believe in the youth of the Church. I wish everyone had a chance to experience such an incredible event. It truly made me want to do more for the Church.

Jenna Princivalli
Going to NCYC was an experience that I would never forget. I didn’t know what to expect when I got onto the plane going to Ohio. When we arrived in Ohio, I was amazed to see actually how many people go to NCYC. There were 20,000 teens and chaperones who had the same faith as me and who loved to profess their love of it. I learned new aspects of how to live my faith and to not be afraid to say that I am Catholic. Each day there were speakers and workshops that I got to participate in. My favorite speaker would be Renee Bondi. She inspired me to never give up even when an especially hard time in your life comes and puts an obstacle in your way. She was a normal woman who lived a life that everyone wants. She was engaged to the love of her life and everything in her life was going perfectly for her until one night when she went to sleep. She woke up in the middle of what she thinks was a dream/nightmare, she was jumping off her bed as if she were diving into a pool of water. This action caused her to break some vertebrae in her neck. She was paralyzed from the chest down and she learned she was never going to walk again. But after a while, she realized that even through this unfortunate event, God had sent her signs or miracles afterward. She pulled though it all with the help of friends and family. She went on to marry her fiancé, went back to school to teach, and the most miraculous thing was that she had a baby boy who now is 12 years old. Her speech inspired me the most because she is a woman whose faith was really put to the test but she never gave up, she actually kept on praying and God showed her the way to go and live her life. Renee mentioned moral issues like women should stand up for themselves and no boy should ever put you down because if he does, then he isn’t worth it. Renee went through a rough patch in her life that she overcame with her faith. There were other speakers who described rough patches in their lives and each person at NCYC could relate to some story or event that a speaker was talking about. I never would have thought that I would have been so inspired to proclaim my faith or to think about the everyday issues and realize all that I have to do is pray to God for help or support when I am down or something happened. Believe it or not, God helps you in the smallest ways that you would never think of. I was inspired through song, dance, stories, and some friendships that I made there. Going to NCYC was an event that I would never regret and I will always hold onto the memories and the experiences that I had at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Columbus, Ohio. I discovered the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Kayleen Fahey
Everyone has at least one friend that seems to get all excited and hyper about almost everything. Well, my friend Dominic is one of those kinds of people so, when he was telling me and my other friends about how amazing NCYC is, I just nodded and smiled. The idea of going on a trip sounded fun, but I was really lost as to what we were actually going to be doing. After watching the video, it looked pretty cool, but I still wasn’t really all that excited. Months go by and the NCYC just stayed in the back of my mind. Then, Kim started going over traveling and luggage information and I started to realize that I was going to be leaving soon. One of my biggest worries about NCYC was that everyone else was going to be “all into it” and be devoted to their faith and go all “God crazy.” I am not that outgoing when it comes to my religion. I mean I believe in God and Jesus, but I am more subtle and not so open about my faith and beliefs. I would imagine kids being all excited and me feeling out of place and uncomfortable. Sure, Dominic had a good time when he went two years before, but he is open and passionate about his beliefs, not like me. I was so nervous, but it helped that some of my other friends had the same fear that I had. It helped that I was not alone in my worry, but it still did not take it away. In my head I just tried to think of it as a big retreat with my friends, and in a way, I was right. It was like a big retreat but big was not the right word to describe being in an enormous arena with 20,000 other kids. When we first arrived at the arena, people were coming up to us asking to trade stuff and asking where we were from. At first, I was kind of uncomfortable with the openness of everyone, but then I quickly got used to it. Being in the arena with everyone was like a huge family gathered together (not everyone knows everyone in their family anyways). I loved the feeling of us all being together especially with my small group from Celestine. We became a part of a huge community. One of my favorite parts of the whole group session was when we all prayed together for the young girl Veronica who had passed away early that Thursday morning. It was touching and I really felt that God could hear all of our prayers. All of the speakers had their own message that they were trying to get through to us. Fr. Tony Picard wanted us to be proud of our faith. Tony Melendez, a man born without arms reminded us to appreciate the things you have and the ability that we sometimes take for granted. For example, I will never forget when Tony’s brother told the story of how he wished his brother could be like the other kids. He wanted them to be able to do stuff together like, throw a Frisbee. They shared their story of being young kids and trying to play Frisbee together for the first time. This story of Tony’s determination really taught me a lesson about accepting people for who they are. I cannot pin-point one speaker that truly inspired me and changed my life because they all had a different effect on me. Overall, this was an incredible experience that I will never forget. On this trip, I got a chance to step back and connect with myself, God, and my friends. I’m so glad that I received this opportunity and was able to share it with Kim, Fr. Larry, all the teen club members, and the 19,999 other people that made my NCYC experience so memorable!!

Jordon McMillan
Going to NCYC was probably one of the most amazing things that I’ve ever experienced, ever. Just being in the arena in Ohio was amazing on its own. But, seeing over 20,000 kids my age all coming together to be together was spectacular. Just having the knowledge that I wasn’t alone in my faith really made me have a wonderful feeling of safety. One of my favorite events of the weekend was listening to the different variety of speakers. At NCYC they had such a large choice of speakers, you could have gotten lost with all of the different types of ideas that were being given to you. My personal favorite though was the speech about music. One of the speakers, Anna Scally, encouraged us to use our everyday music to help our prayer life. Music has a huge influence in my life; I listen all the time. Needless to say when the speaker began to talk about music, I was really interested. I sat up and paid a bit more attention. Then, she began talking about songs being used as prayer, just regular songs that you sing everyday, or listen to. This hit home with me because I’m so used to it being church hymns or something along those lines relating to prayer. It was really cool to know that you can use whatever is in your disposal to pray to our great Lord. This trip is definitely something I will never forget, and I know that it changed me in a great way.

John Pontikis
When I first heard about the opportunity to go to the National Catholic Youth Conference, I was extremely excited. I knew it would be an experience at which I would learn more about my Catholic faith and spend some time with my friends. Looking back now, I had no idea this NCYC would end up changing my life like it did. As soon as we arrived at the conference center, I was amazed by just the sheer amount of people there. The conference had not even technically begun and teens from all around the country were already coming up to us and trading what they had. We could go up to any random group walking down the street and instantly make new friends. After a quick walk around the convention center, we met in the Nationwide Arena for the opening ceremony. While we entered the arena, the Christian rap group Righteous B performed which was extremely entertaining. 20,000 screaming, exuberant, and hyper teens filled the arena and we had a blast. After day one, I couldn’t wait to get back to the conference center and arena to do it all again the next day! We started day two with a very inspiring speaker. Tony Melendez was born without arms and his message was to go out and use what God gave you to do good things. This was an amazing message coming from him considering he played guitar, with his feet! He really believed the message he was sharing with us. Later that day we listened to a very controversial speaker. Fr. Tony Ricard didn’t hide his message that we should be proud of our faith and show it. He even proved that priests can dance the electric slide! We also attended workshops by Anna Scaly and Mike Patin which were great. On Saturday morning, we listened to my favorite speaker Renee Bondi. She told us about the accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down and unable to sing. Music had been a huge part of her life as she was a chorus director. Miraculously, her voice was restored and music helped her healing process immensely. Her message was to never give up and to recognize the miracles in everyday life. Before I knew it, the day was coming to a close and it was time for the closing mass. Overall, meeting the people, hearing the messages of the speakers, and just being at NCYC was an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. I am very thankful I had the chance to go to the National Catholic Youth Conference.

Matt Dutton
God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good. This is just one of the many chants that were often said at NCYC. The National Catholic Youth Conference was an amazing experience and one I will never forget. There were over 20,000 people in attendance and most of them were teens like me who were there to experience and express their faith. The chants were great and were one of my personal favorite experiences. Entire groups of people would be chanting together and it was just a great thing to hear and to see. I was fortunate enough to be able to lead some the chants myself. I would start a chant and tons of people around the St. Celestine group would join in with us. A huge part of NCYC is the singing of songs. There were so many great songs that were sung through out the entire trip. Not only were these songs great to listen to, but they also carried messages about our lives and our faith. Such as, God is There or Give Me Strength Lord. Both music and chanting were huge through out the trip. The most meaningful part of NCYC for me was the speakers we were able to listen to. We heard so many great speakers and so many inspirational stories about their lives and the lives of those around them. One speaker who particularly stood out for me was a priest named Father Tony. Father Tony is a priest from a community in New Orleans and he talked about how he and his community made it through the hard times after hurricane Katrina. The story was very moving and it brought many messages with it. The message in that story that I found very inspirational was how that no matter how hopeless things may seem there is nothing that we can’t overcome as long as we have our faith and our community. If we have our family and friends and a strong community we can turn to, we can overcome any darkness that we might face. The trip was such an incredible experience. The music, the chants, the speakers were all so amazing. I had such a fantastic time and I can’t wait until I can go back for NCYC 2009 in Kansas City. I would like to thank Kim McMillan and Fr. Larry for allowing me to be a part of this great experience and for making the whole trip possible for myself and the other teens that went. I made new friendships with people from all over the country on this trip. I was able to strengthen the great friendships I have with the friends I went with from St. Celestine’s. Most importantly of all that weekend, I was able to walk away from the NCYC and truly stretch my faith in a good way.

Lauren Gallagher
The National Catholic Youth Conference can basically be summed up into five words: the experience of a lifetime. It is difficult to imagine 20,000 teenagers marching up and down the streets of downtown Columbus ignoring the fact that it is freezing and just screaming as loud as they can to praise Jesus. Seeing the tremendous amount of spirit was full proof that we are Church. The first musical performance we listened to was a rap group called Righteous B. They did an excellent job integrating religious messages into popular songs that many teenagers are familiar with. The master of ceremonies for the weekend was Steve Angrissano. The passion he had for his faith was so inspiring that it truly touched me. The last thing he said to us before we left dealt with the remarks we might have to deal with when we got home about people putting us down for our faith. His most important advice was to stick up for what you believe in and remember that God is there, God is always there. Another moment during the opening ceremony that will stick with me forever was when the executive director of the NCYFM informed all those gathered in the arena that a girl from Las Vegas was killed that morning. It really made me realize the importance of prayer, God and everyone in my life. Upon waking up early the next day, we all gathered in the arena as a congregation of youth. It was especially nice how we started and ended each day together. The first day, Discover the Way, was presented by Tony Melendez who although was born without arms talked about miracles and the importance of family. He brought his brother who recalled his childhood living with a sibling with a disability. Tony was so grateful for the gift of life and it is obvious that family life is extremely important to him. Nothing stopped him from serving God; therefore there is no excuse for us to not start making a difference. Another speaker that I really enjoyed listening to was Anna Scally. I had the pleasure of meeting her before the session and she was just so excited about helping us to find Scripture messages in the music that we listen to today. Although there is a fine line between positive and negative meanings in music, it was comforting to know that if I am not listening to Christian music all the time, I am still benefiting from the values in the lyrics of popular artists around the nation. Later in the day I learned about how teens can be called to be disciples now. By making your life extraordinary, you can also benefit all those around you. Mike Patin encouraged us to make small differences now because we have the power to be that difference. The pastor of a church in New Orleans was another speaker we heard. He came from a community in New Orleans that was destroyed after Hurricane Katrina hit. Father Tony talked about the tremendous help they received and how it made a difference in their congregation. Their spirit proved that God is good all the time. Every morning began with a personal story from ordinary people. On the final day of the conference, Renee Bondi came out on a wheelchair. She was paralyzed from the neck down, yet she was smiling and laughing the entire time. Her passion was singing which is where she found Jesus in her life. It was most inspiring to hear her talk about the coincidences in her life and how every single one of them was an act of God. Once again, the importance of family was included as she brought out her husband and her son. Simply, He’s the Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeest…J*E*S*U*S! Apart from listening to various speakers, we were able to take part in service projects, meet new people and dance the night away with 10,000 teens all there for one sole purpose: to praise Jesus. The closing Mass was perhaps the most rewarding of the weekend. Besides having the pleasure to see Father Larry represent us among all the clergymen, we were able to break bread together as one large community of faith. Every person brought certain energy to the room that contributed to the overall excitement of the Mass. In the end, it was astounding to see all teenagers, chaperones, youth ministers, clergy, and especially the bishops clapping in the shape of the cross while praying through the gift of song. The experience has definitely allowed me to be more outgoing and, from that, I was able to obtain knowledge of ways I can share my faith with our community here in Chicago.

Alexis Pudlo
My experience at NCYC was more than just unforgettable, it was life changing. NCYC is more than just your average retreat or conference. It’s larger than anything you can imagine. One thing that made a difference to me, was the simple fact that there were so many teens who were involved with their faith just as much, if not more than I was. It’s truly an inspiration to see everyday teens fill an arena for God. Another thing I noticed is the fact that everyone is accepted, there isn’t any of your typical high school,“ I’m cool, your not.” put downs. Everyone is equal, nobody feels unwelcome, and everyone is open to meeting someone new. To put it simply, in our modern day world if you were walking down the street and some random person waved at you, you would probably look at them like they were strange, but at NCYC that was normal. Overall though, the greatest thing about NCYC, is that it makes worshiping God fun. It’s an uplifting experience for anyone, and I am very glad I went.

Richard Paduch
Going to the National Catholic Youth Conference or, NCYC, will be an amazing memory for years to come. The conference was held in Columbus, Ohio for three days. The conference was set up like a convention would; you have the Nationwide Arena which is where the opening of the conference took place. We also gathered here for the major speakers and for mass. Then there was The Port. The Port was a mini-amusement park. It had shops and places where you can laser tag, sumo-wrestle and joust. The Port was in the Greater Columbus Convention Center; in it were probably about 100 rooms. These rooms hosted smaller sessions, with speakers. The first night we were in Columbus, we went to the arena. The emcee’s name was Steve Agrissano; he sang and was a pretty good emcee. There were around 50 teens that sang and helped put on skits the whole three days. Unfortunately, on the first evening of the conference, the Director of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, Bob McCarty shared some very sad news with all those gathered for the conference. A girl who was attending, Veronica Gant, was walking with some members of her youth group and was hit by a car and died. I will tell you that everyone in the building was sad. Then he said that we need to remember her and what she stood for. That she stood for her Faith. A point that I would love to bring up was the size of the convention. When we were in the arena you could stand up and do a 360 degree stare and you can see 20,000 teens. The closest thing I can compare it with is a rock or rap concert. You wouldn’t believe your eyes and I sincerely mean that. It would seem impossible to get that many teens to go to something that has to do with faith in all of Chicago. It was amazing. There are a lot of great moments from this trip that I will remember forever. Since there are too many of them I will list my top five. My fifth, when Father Tony, a pastor from New Orleans spoke. He got everyone fired up, I mean FIRED UP!!! This is who Father Tony is. You take a priest, mix in hardships such as Hurricane Katrina, faith and a love of God and you get a man like Fr. Tony. He seemed to some, a little arrogant but, his message was true. His speech was on the fact that if you believe, nothing will stop you. There are some people that thought he was too arrogant but he was a great motivational speaker. My fourth, I met this girl who was from Alabama. This is important to me because those who know me, know I speak very little and I don’t have many conversations. This girl, whose name was Lydia, was the first person I have had a ten minute conversation with that wasn’t an argument. I don’t normally talk to strangers but it was cool. My third favorite experience was when I saw Renee speak. Renee was a person who woke up from what was a night’s sleep in mid-air. She was performing a dive from off her bed which resulted in her breaking her neck. She told us this and then went on to explain the things that God has helped her with. She told us that God helped her to speak and use her hands. Then God gave her countless miracles. For someone who lost so much but is able to focus and improve on what she does have, is a true accomplishment. My second was when Tony Melendez spoke. He is one of the greatest musicians I have every seen. He played the acoustic guitar entirely, with his feet. While his mother was pregnant in Mexico, the doctors gave her a drug that affected Tony’s development. He was born with no hands. His brother told a story of how he didn’t like Tony because he couldn’t do simple things like throw a Frisbee. Tony then asked his brother to play Frisbee. His brother threw the Frisbee and Tony caught it (in his mouth) and threw it back with his feet. Around ten years ago the Pope told him to; “give your gift to others”, and he has been doing that. It is amazing that through the hardships, people can live extraordinary lives. My first favorite experience happened on the second night. Half of our group went to eat at Chipotle and there was a kid with a really cool hat on. So I tried to bargain with him for the hat. He did not budge. As I turned to walk away the leader of the group asked me to pray. Out of the whole trip I was taken back most by this because it has NEVER happened to me before. I have never prayed with people I don’t know. It astonishes me even to this day how deep our faith really runs. In today’s society you never see know about people who take the time and learn fully about their faith. I go to a public school and sometimes, it seems there isn’t one person who stands for what they truly believe in. Today, now, this very moment is when we need to believe and find God. I have come to truly believe that God is good all the time. If you ever find yourself in doubt pray, God will hear you. Discover the Way, Discover the Truth, and Discover the Life. I know the truth and know there are multiple ways to find God. When you put forth effort and overcome obstacles you can do anything. “Nothing is impossible to him who will try.” –Alexander the Great

Dominic Clemente
"There is a love. A love that is willing to sacrifice. And through this love, we can share in the feast of the bread of life." This is part of the theme song (Discover the Way) that we sang everyday at NCYC. To me this was the most important part of the entire song because it tells us that God loved us so much he sacrificed his life for us so we can share our gifts with each other and celebrate Him at mass. This was my second trip to NCYC and I loved it more than the first time I went. It is so hard for me to write this article because I can not describe to you in the words the way NCYC makes you feel. You walk into a hockey arena filled to the top with kids, adults, and clergy. Just imagine walking into Allstate Arena and hearing a band playing and the entire arena filled with people jumping up and down, yelling, cheering, throwing beach balls, flashing cameras, waving flags, and then you get hit with the very contagious energy and you start joining in. Then later that night you are surrounded by all of those people in prayer. Out of all 20,000 people only about 20 tops know who you are but, you feel like all 20,000 know you and your story. That is the one thing that gets me every time. Even though you don’t know even 1/4 of the people there they are all so supportive, it’s like they know you. The afternoon of Thursday a girl from Las Vegas was hit by a car and died. The entire Diocese of Las Vegas went home and never made it to NCYC. When they told us that at the opening ceremony absolutely no one knew this girl or anyone from the diocese of Las Vegas but we all cheered and prayed and mourned for this girl, her family, friend, and the diocese of Las Vegas. It just made me feel so loved that I have 20,000 people supporting me no matter what. And that love goes back to the song. Gods love is so powerful that it is spread all over. During the final mass all I could do at the end of mass was sit in awe of all these people standing and cheering for Jesus. It was an absolutely amazing experience I will hold in my heart for a lifetime. While at NCYC we heard a number of speakers and one of my favorite speakers, Jesse Mannibusan, He sang this song that has been stuck in my head since NCYC called "Come and Fish with Me". In the song there is a line that goes "O come and follow me, O leave behind your nets, I call you!" Now everyone interprets songs differently but the message I got out of that song was from the part "leave behind your nets, I call you". For me that means to leave behind your troubles, or net, and follow the call of Jesus. Along with Jesse there was also Mike Patin who told us to go the extra M.Y.L.E (Make Your Life Extraordinary). Mike taught us that we need to get out and make our life worth living. He was very inspirational to me and I know I will, and have, changed parts of my life because of him. NCYC 2007 made an extraordinary impact on my life and I will never forget the experience or the people I shared it with. I am very grateful to those that made it possible for us to go especially Kim McMillan and Fr. Larry. With out them there would be no Youth Group or the opportunity to go on this life changing experience. If you ever have the chance to go to NCYC I HIGHLY recommend it to you. NCYC 2009 in Kansas City will be one you won’t want to miss. Even though I will be a sophomore in college in 2009 Kim and Fr. Larry know I am already coming back! God Bless

Jennifer Gallagher
NCYC was an experience that I will never forget for the rest of my life. When, I first got there, I didn’t really know what to expect. After the first day, I was awe-struck. I was stunned by the amount of people there. The opening ceremony with 20,000 people was incredible. Everyone was getting into it, singing along and dancing to the music. Everyone got involved and shared their faith. When you sit down at the arena and look around, you see an entire nation singing and dancing about Jesus, God, and faith. It was very moving to see that many people gather to express their faith. I am a shy person, and NCYC allowed me to let my guard down. To my surprise, I had a lot of fun. Everyone was so friendly and just came up to you and started talking to you. The very first day was the opening ceremony. Steve Agrissano was the key note speaker for the entire weekend. In the opening ceremony, something he said really got my attention. He said that if you leave here the way you came, then you didn’t get anything out of the experience. You should not leave NCYC the same person you came as. This got me thinking to really listen to the messages of the speakers and try to relate to them. The second day, we gathered in the arena again and listened to a speaker named Tony Melendez. His message was to use the gifts you are blessed with. He had no arms and he learned to play the guitar and go through life with his feet. He showed me how fortunate we all are to have everything, and to be thankful for everything that we have. The second speaker we listened to was Anna Scally. She talked about how music is used to help strengthen our faith. I thought this was extremely interesting because music is such a big part of teens’ lives. She talked about good and bad music and if they had a negative or positive message. Another speaker I really enjoyed and felt that it gave a strong message was Mike Patin. He talked about going the extra mile to make your life extraordinary. Mike was very funny and related well with the teens. He showed a slideshow of different saints who went the extra mile and made their life extraordinary. That got me thinking how I can make my life extraordinary. I could do that with the profession I choose, getting more involved, and doing more service projects. At the end of the day we gathered in the arena again and listened to Father Tony. He was very energetic, and got the audience involved. He also set a good message about your faith. He was from New Orleans and got struck by hurricane Katrina. He said that with your faith you get through any hard time. Another moving speaker was Renee Bondi. She was paralyzed by a freak accident, and she portrayed her message with song. She talked about how there are no such things as coincidences, and everything in life happens for a reason. The last night of NCYC, everyone gathered in the arena for a mass. It was sad because I knew I was leaving after this. The mass was unbelievable, watching 20,000 teens in the arena sing and praise Jesus. We did a clap in the shape of a cross, and the entire arena did it. It was a sight to see, 20,000 kids doing the exact same clap formation at the same time. NCYC was an experience I will never forget. I had so much fun and strengthened my faith. I believe that I did walk out of there a different person. I have a different look on our faith and how I am going to live my life. I will use my gifts to help people, and make my life extraordinary.

Joe Macchione
The chants of the crowd became louder, as we neared the convention center. In your ears rang the familiar phrase of “NC” followed with an even louder “YC.” It had been my first time attending the National Catholic Youth Conference, but it was a time I would never forget. Almost every state in the country was represented. 20,000 young teens gathered in Columbus, Ohio for three fun filled days. The main area the conference took place in was a stadium. It sat 20,000 people and to see it packed was an extraordinary sight. In this Stadium we prayed, danced, listened to key-note speakers, and had great times. Of these key note speakers there was a man with no arms who could play the guitar and a woman who was almost fully paralyzed after falling off of her bed and breaking her neck. These two hit me the hardest. They were people who discovered a way to work with what they had, and to create not only a better life for themselves, but for al the people they effected with their work. The theme of the conference was “Discover the Way.” To everybody there, it meant something different, but to me it meant that no matter how hard things got there was always a way out of it. All you have to do is discover the way. NCYC was one of the best times of my life; it is something I will always remember.